A Listening Map of 50 Piano Works · Article 45
Sonatas and Interludes places screws, bolts, rubber and other materials among piano strings, turning individual keys into distinct percussion colours. Its first question is not what to play, but what this piano now is.
Take an inventory of the prepared piano
| Sound type | Possible impression |
|---|---|
| Metallic | Bell, gong or brief ring |
| Dry wood | Woodblock, drum rim or impact without sustain |
| Muted low sound | A constrained drumhead |
| Still piano-like | The original instrument has not completely vanished |
How to hear sixteen sonatas and four interludes
Do not memorise twenty sections. Compare adjacent pairs for colour combinations, phrase length and repetition. Treat interludes as larger breathing spaces rather than ordinary connectors.
Preparation is not damage
Placement, size and installation of materials belong to the work’s specification; the aim is a controllable new instrument. Different pianos still vary, making each performance an act of instrument-building.
- Identify four colour families.
- Hear silence separating impacts.
- Ask when you forget that the instrument is a piano.
Suggested Listening
Tim Ovens: listen to this work on YouTube (Tim Ovens)
Ovens’s complete performance reveals the whole colour system. Sample three short sonatas first, then decide whether to hear the cycle continuously.
ScoreFlow
If you would like to bring these ideas about listening, understanding, and practice to the keyboard, you might try ScoreFlow, an app I developed to make score reading and daily practice flow more naturally together.
Discover more from Geoffrey Chen
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.